======================================================================== ROBERT X. CRINGELY http://www.infoworld.com ======================================================================== Monday, October 25, 2004
GADGET EXPO IN BLOOM, PEOPLESOFT AWAITS DOOM By Robert X. Cringely(R) Posted October 22, 2004 3:00 PM Pacific Time Between TechXNY and last week's Digital Life trade show, I feel like I've been living inside a suitcase. At least DL had a pulse, thanks largely to Google, which announced its new desktop search engine there. The show was sponsored by a gadget rag that's a cross between Maxim and IEEE Spectrum. More proof that babes and geeks don't mix (and I should know). ADVERTISEMENT -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- SPECIAL REPORT: SECURING GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISES Do you know who's reading your e-mail? Because messages typically travel the Internet in plain text, they are potentially susceptible to prying eyes. The InfoWorld Test Center examines four solutions for keeping private communications private. http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=987A07:2B910B2 -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- -- Game Dames: Cringe-o-phile Nicole C. says when she attended TechXNY, all she got to show for it was a package of breath mints handed out by Iomega. She misses the days when trade shows were filled with cheesy karaoke and booth babes. Had she stuck around the Big Apple for Digital Life, she could have met the Swedish Girls of Gaming , seven femme fatales who tour the world embarrassing any geek who dares take them on in a game of "Counter-Strike." I avoided the ones named Thelma and Louise and tried chatting up Sofi, but she looked at me as if I were an insignificant life-form not even worth killing. Maybe I should have chewed a few of those Iomega breath mints first. Swallow This: Between PeopleSoft's poison pills and Oracle's suddenly less-than-generous mood, you'd think the O/P deal would be dead. But my spies tell me Oracle's consulting unit is in the middle of a reorganization designed to make it easier to absorb the PeopleSoft consultants after Oracle has assimilated them. There's an acquisition strategy for you: Bite off the head, spit out the poison, and consume what's left. If a mongoose can do it, why not Ellison? Before You Die, You Hear the Ring: An anonymous Cringester says his company's West Coast VP insisted the office's phone extensions be changed because they all began with the number four. His reason? The word "four" in Mandarin ("si") sounds the same as the word for "death." This is especially odd when you consider that, a) the exec isn't Chinese, and b) the company does no business in China. I understand this VP also believes if you watch the wrong corporate training videos, you'll die within seven days. Got hot tips or strange superstitions? Send 'em to [EMAIL PROTECTED] and you may collect some Cringe swag. Send tips to [EMAIL PROTECTED] ======================================================================== Because you can't have too much decision support You choose the platforms, the languages, the developers. And everything -- the whole IT infrastructure, the success of the enterprise - flows from there. With that much on the line, you can't have too much of the good advice you'll get in the Strategic Developer newsletter, by InfoWorld Test Center lead analyst Jon Udell. Delivered every Thursday. Subscribe at http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=987A03:2B910B2 ADVERTISE ======================================================================== For information on advertising, contact [EMAIL PROTECTED] UNSUBSCRIBE/MANAGE NEWSLETTERS ======================================================================== To subscribe, unsubscribe or change your e-mail address for any of InfoWorld's e-mail newsletters, go to: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=987A04:2B910B2 To subscribe to InfoWorld.com, or InfoWorld Print, or both, or to renew or correct a problem with any InfoWorld subscription, go to http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=987A06:2B910B2 To view InfoWorld's privacy policy, visit: http://newsletter.infoworld.com/t?ctl=987A05:2B910B2 Copyright (C) 2004 InfoWorld Media Group, 501 Second St., San Francisco, CA 94107 This message was sent to: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
